The Real Fuss Over An Imperious Presidency
President Obama finally did what he said about two dozens times before that he couldn’t do. He is “shielding” four million more illegal immigrants from deportation and granting them social services funded by American taxpayers. What Obama once characterized as only possible if he were an emperor, he now justifies because it’s just. Like, just after the election when voters can’t take it out on Dems because the Donkey Party has already been done in. Timing takes the harm out of this foul.
As expected, there is a huge hue and cry over the executive action. The President detonated a political nuke less than three weeks after his Party was handed a historical drubbing at the polls. His move screams to all who will listen that the bipartisan lights on the White House porch will not be lit. The President has made his political choice of two more years of acrimony and deadlock in the Nation’s capital.
Just in case the Republicans missed it, the President drove the point home when he said during his speech:
“Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement over a single issue be a deal-breaker on every issue. That’s not how our democracy works, and Congress certainly shouldn’t shut down our government again just because we disagree on this. Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs from us right now is a common purpose –- a higher purpose.”
The comment was nothing more than a very sharp stick in the Elephant’s eye. “Don’t even think of going your own way as I do. Voters will punish you.” This is a transparent reference to the fact that Republicans usually pay the political price for gridlock on the Hill. The comment is not intended to, nor will it, bring bipartisan rapprochement.
But is any of this the fuss that should be made over the President’s solo act? Not really. It’s hardly a shocker that the fiber of his being is made of partisan stuff. That he fibbed in this speech about how different his action is now than what he once said was lawful can’t be surprising, either.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, everyone knows the President lies. The several Jonathan Gruber videos nail that. But, we already knew that Obama intentionally makes false statements. No one can forget the 37 times that he claimed, “if you like your doctor”.
Still, the revelation in the Gruber videos is several orders of magnitude greater than the simple keep-your-doctor lie. The Gruber videos show the depth and breadth of the President’s deception. The more he wants a certain end, the more intense and persistent his deceit.
Obama’s pathetic attempt to distance himself from the MIT economist only underscores the lesson we should learn. That the President can even show his face at a microphone at this point means two things. He is shameless about his conduct and he fails to realize that his credibility is in tatters.
Nevertheless, the real fuss is over the rancor of the Republican response in Congress. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy called Obama’s move “a brazen power grab” and promised a fight in the New Year. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Tx., advocates blocking all Obama executive branch and judicial appointments. Other representatives talked of government shutdown, a foolish move that generally backfires on the GOP.
The Texas Governor-elect plans to sue Obama over the immigration dust-up. That is the road to take. Let the third Branch tell the other two what their roles are. Meanwhile, the Republicans should not rise to Obama’s bait. Leave him where the election put him – on the cold edge of irrelevancy – and get down to the serious business of governing.
